Next chapter! Yay! Thank you guys so much for the reviews, I'll try my best to respond to them every chapter.
turquoise ninja 012: I cannot wait for the first Kaito Kid heist, it is going to be so much fun to write! Right now I'm not planning for any pairings but that may very well change later. Shizuka's more focused on helping her brother and getting into any relationship will just put that person in danger so she's not even thinking about it, though your suggestion is interesting. Shizuka is 21 so the age difference isn't that big but I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for that. I'll probably wait until I'm much further along in the story before letting you guys vote on it. Or I'll just see what my brain thinks up, either one. Thanks for being the first review for this story! It means a lot to me!
Kaytil: Thank you so much for your review! I was actually hoping she would come across like that. It always bothered me that no one seemed to realize how close he came to dying. It is going to be the same whenever he changes back as well. He goes through a lot of pain with those changes and everyone that knows just kind of glosses over that. I'm also going to focus on family problems, because they never really showed that in canon and there is no way there wouldn't be with some of the things that happen. Thank you so much for your kind words, it motivated me to finish this chapter sooner than I thought I would.
MidoriEmerald13: Thank you! I'm grateful you think it is unique, I always worry about seeming boring and repetitive in a lot of the things I do so it is nice to hear you think so. I hope you like this next chapter too!
On to the story!
-00-
Chapter 2: Not what I signed up for
-00-
The minute the alarm went off it was thrown mercilessly to the floor, disconnecting it from its power source on the wall. Shizuka glared out from her bundle of blankets, her eyes feeling puffy and difficult to open.
After her rather embarrassing breakdown the other night, Professor Agasa had offered to make her dinner before she went to sleep. Seeing as how neither of the Kudo siblings could cook to save their lives she immediately accepted and they spent another few hours discussing what to do next.
In the end they came up with little more than to keep an eye out for anything suspicious and don't take unnecessary risks. Neither was very happy with the outcome of their thoughts but not much could be done about it at four in the morning.
With a croaky sounding groan, Shizuka lifted herself into a sitting position, patting down her ridiculous bed head in vain. Plugging the alarm clock back in (with a little more force than needed) she sighed when the numbers lit up.
8:30am.
"Early detective gets the case," she muttered the words their father always offered cheerfully whenever they were forced to wake up sooner than they wanted to.
Rubbing the crusts out of her eye she glanced around her room. The floor was wooden with a small, light brown rug in front of the door. The room itself was a simple light brown color to match her darker brown bed covers. Her bed was twin sized (it fit her perfectly even though Shinichi's feet would dangle over the edge if he were to lay on it) and there was small wooden side table that held her alarm clock and a small lamp. There was only one window, next to her bed, which faced what used to be the garden. There was a small desk in the corner with a large stack of carefully filed binders and folders. The chair was a dark grey and heavily cushioned (she spent way to much time in that chair, she'd be damned if it wasn't at least comfortable to sit in). Two tall bookshelves lined the walls opposite the desk and adjacent to her bed. They were filled with books of varying genres, but mostly covering criminal studies and photography styles. The very bottom shelf on the furthest corner from the door was a small collection of mystery novels (that may or may not actually be dramatic romances. If any one asked, they were about murder and blood). Lastly, her closet off to the side of her desk. It was a simple sliding door compartment with only a few outfits inside. She had brought most of her things with her on her last trip.
Her luggage was still down in the main hallway where she had left it the other night. The trip up the stairs had been nearly impossible as it was, she never would have made it with any added weight.
With a hefty sigh Shizuka moved to stand up, flinching slightly at the coldness of the floor. She hadn't bothered to change when she went to sleep, just kicking off her shoes and socks before face planting into the pillows.
Wiggling her toes a bit until they adjusted to the temperature change she stood up and stretched her arms above her head with a yawn. Smacking her lips together a few times to get rid of the heavy taste of sleep she scratched at her head and moved to the closet to grab a comfortable change of clothes for the day.
Sliding the door open she grabbed a pair of plain jeans and a dark grey t-shirt with a faded picture of the Eiffel tower on the back. Grabbing a random pair of underwear she walked out into the hallway and to the bathroom just a little ways down from her room.
"Shower, food, then planning," she muttered, turning on the water so it could warm up.
-00-
Shizuka stepped into the kitchen barefoot, towel drying the ends of her hair. The kitchen was split into two areas, one filled with the cooking appliances, a cupboard, and a large marble counter while the other had a few shelves that held various pictures, a large wooden table with matching chairs, and a large sliding glass door that led to the backyard. Both areas were painted a light purple (their mother's choice) and the walls were lined with family photos.
Letting the towel fall from her hands to rest on her shoulders, Shizuka headed straight for the coffee machine. As she reached up to grab the filters for the pot she turned on the small TV resting on the counter. The channel was already set at the local news.
"Tani Akiko, just ten years old, was taken right from her own backyard just last night," the blonde newscaster stated as a picture of a young girl with light brown hair was shown on the screen. Shizuka frowned at the television as she started pour in the water. "At the time of the incident only the butler of the household had been with the child and had witnessed her being taken away. Tani-san, fearing for his daughter's safety and not wishing to alert the kidnapper called in a private detective to help find young Akiko."
Once the coffee maker was finished Shizuka turned towards it, but her eyes never left the screen. She paused, eyes wide, when a picture of Mouri Kogoro was put up next to the picture of the child.
"Once a detective for the police force, Mouri Kogoro wasted no time in locating the killer," the newscaster smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges. "He used the family pet, Jambo, to help track down the missing girl. Imagine that!"
Shizuka felt her eyebrows twitch as she poured the coffee into her favorite green mug. A picture is worth a thousand words, and it tells far more than a single story, was printed along the sides of it. Shinichi had given it to her for her fifteenth birthday.
The news station started playing a small video in the top corner of the screen and Shizuka's eyes were immediately drawn to it as she took a long drink of the burning hot liquid. A heavy set, well-dressed man (who she immediately assumed to be the father of the kidnapped girl) was shaking hands with Kogoro, professing his gratitude. Kogoro was wearing his usual suit and tie attire, though his dark mustache was far more prominent than she remembered. He was laughing loudly and rubbing at the back of his head.
"Overjoyed," her mind instantly supplied. "Tired. Hasn't been sleeping well. Relieved, and not just because he found the girl."
Her thoughts were drawn away from Kogoro when the camera shifted slightly to the left, revealing two more people. Ran was standing just a few feet away from her father wearing the same cargo shorts and black shirt Shizuka had seen her in when she left the other day. Ran was even wearing the same light blue jacket. She was looking at her father proudly, but she kept glancing down in concern.
Shizuka tightened her grip on the mug. 'Conan Edogawa' was smiling widely and looking for all the world like a small child. He looked tired as well, but that wasn't what caught her attention. It was the stark white bandage wrapped around his forehead, the dirt stains marring his face, the band aid stuck to his cheek, and the way he carried himself as though his sides hurt that made her clench her teeth and tense in anger.
"…an astounding rescue! We have yet to get a statement from Kogoro-san, but Tani-san assures us that-"
Shizuka reached out and turned the TV off. She set the steaming mug down and placed both of her hands on the counter to steady herself.
"Not even a day," she groaned, resting her head on the cool marble of the counter.
-00-
Ran smiled happily to herself as she looked at the grocery bags in her hands. The Tani family had been very generous in their reward for finding little Akiko and Ran decided tonight they would have a celebratory feast for the successful case as well as their newest addition to the household.
"I wonder if Conan-kun has any allergies," she frowned. "I should ask him before I make anything."
As she turned the corner to her home she caught sight of a familiar figure leaving the Kudo household.
"Shizuka!" Ran called, picking up her pace to meet the other half way.
Shizuka smiled and waved slightly, ambling towards her with a warm smile.
"Hello Ran-chan, isn't it a bit early for grocery shopping?" she greeted, her hands in her pockets.
Ran grinned brightly. "Dad solved a case last night and saved a little girl. He hasn't gotten any cases recently so he was feeling pretty down, but now he's raring to go! I decided we should celebrate his success and throw a bit of a welcoming party for Conan-kun too!"
"Ah, I heard about that on the news," Shizuka nodded, her gaze wandering as it usually did when she was thinking. "Is everyone alright?"
Ran caught herself mid-nod and shuffled worriedly. "Well, Conan-kun got hurt, but the doctor said it wasn't anything serious. He had been with the dog when it found Akiko-chan and he tried to stop the kidnapper from hurting her. I got there in time but…"
Shizuka looked at her thoughtfully. "I see. Well, I suppose I should thank you then."
Ran looked at her in shock. "Thank me?"
Shizuka shook her head with a tired look and motioned for Ran to start walking again. They began to walk slowly towards the Mouri household side by side.
"Conan-chan is very outgoing," Shizuka started, staring up at the sky as they moved. "He's a lot like Shinichi in the fact that he doesn't fear anything, and that can get him into trouble. I want to thank you for agreeing to watch over him and for saving him last night. He'll be handful, I'm sure, but I feel better knowing he's staying with you."
"You seem to know him very well," Ran noted, blushing lightly at the compliment.
Shizuka smirked. "I've known him since the day he was born. Whenever his parents were busy or Agasa wasn't available I'd be in charge of taking care of him."
"Really? But I've never heard you talk about him!"
She shrugged. "I don't really talk about anything that isn't case related. Besides, whenever we talk I am far more interested in what you and Shinichi have been up to."
Ran laughed, embarrassment making it higher pitched than normal. "Ah, well, there's always a case when Shinichi is around so…Oh! You should come to dinner tonight! And Professor Agasa too!"
Shizuka paused at the steps leading to Ran's home and Kogoro's detective agency. "I would love to come. I'll ask Professor as well when I get back home."
Ran frowned. "That's right, you were going somewhere when I saw you. I hope I didn't pull you away from anything."
"Not at all," Shizuka shook her head with a smile. "I was just going to go for a walk before I stopped by the police department."
"The police department?"
"Yeah. I've been away for a long time and I've been missing home so I'm going to center my work in Beika from now on."
"You can do that?" Ran asked in shock.
"Sure," she shrugged. "I'm a private detective so I can choose what cases I take. There are plenty of criminals that escape the police that stay in the country, so I'll just focus on them."
"Are you sure? What if they try to leave?"
Shizuka smirked. "Then I'll just have to catch them before they do, won't I?" She turned on her heel and started back the way they came from. "I'll be over for dinner and I'll tell you know how it goes, alright?"
Ran smiled and nodded. "Alright. Good luck Shizuka!"
-00-
A few hours later
"I didn't think you'd have something so soon," Shizuka grumbled under her breath, setting up the tripod for her camera in the corner of an empty room.
"No rest for the weary I'm afraid," the device in her ear crackled.
"This isn't even a case," she complained, pulling out her camera and debating on what lens she should use. "The guy hasn't even done anything yet, what makes you so sure something will happen?"
"You have your sources and I have mine. Do a good job and I might tell you."
"Tch."
Most of the high profile cases Shizuka worked on were from the police and varying divisions of the law force. Crime rates were on the rise and no one had the time or the manpower to chase after lost cases when just a few streets down some new criminal decided to make a debut. Mistakes happened and sometimes it was all about being in the right place at the right time. Whenever a criminal would get away or they police couldn't legally find anything to pin on them they would come to Shizuka. She would either go undercover to find the information they needed or she would track down the ones that got away.
It hadn't been easy at first. No one believed a shrimp of a girl could do anything, regardless of how smart she was or how famous her family had become. So she had to keep an on eye on the news, working whatever small cases the public would bring to her in the meantime (shadowing adulterers, finding lost items, pose as a maid or nanny to catch a spouse in the act, etc.). Whenever a criminal got away from the police she would hunt them down herself. A few grand successes (and a few embarrassing failures) and those in charge started to take notice.
She met Avelia three years ago, after she had just turned nineteen. She had gotten in fairly deep with a drug circle that liked to use impressionable teens as their scapegoats and all she had to do was change her nose with a bit of plastic, cut her hair, and start preaching about the unfairness of her family (not all of which had been lies) to get in. Then, of course, she had made a stupid mistake and had gotten picked up by a newbie cop for 'behaving suspiciously'.
When they sent in their 'preferred' interrogator she had ripped off the fake nose and threw it at his face before going into a passionate rant about how they may well have ruined the greatest undercover operation of her life and why the hell was he laughing she would hog tie him with his own thrice damned handcuffs!
Avelia, as it turned out, was the Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police force and he explained that she had actually been picked up for jaywalking. He thanked her for all of the valuable information she had given them and offered to strike up a deal.
Thus a beautiful relationship was formed.
She would take on the jobs he couldn't afford to spare anyone else for or the ones he couldn't do anything about because he was law enforcement, inform him of how she planned to solve them, and she had to agree to a tracker being placed in her phone ("Just in case you ever get kidnapped and sold to the circus." "That happened one time and that was no circus!" "Sure thing Kranky Koko." "Aghhh!"). In return he would give her a steady influx of cases, backup when needed, access to equipment that would make her job ten times easier, and the funding she needed and refused to ask her family for (disguises could get costly, not to mention her expensive camera equipment).
The more cases she solved and criminals she tracked down the more challenging they became.
The first time she left the country was right before she turned twenty. A man had killed his business partner and stolen all of the money before disappearing off the radar. At first she had tracked him down to a safe house the man had built a few years back but he had been far more paranoid than the criminals she usually went after. He managed to get away and fled the country and she had followed after. She hadn't even really thought about what she was doing until she saw the Eiffel tower, but by then it had been to late to turn back. She sent a text to Avelia (Found Shirokawa, in pursuit. In Paris. I'll need a ride back.) before chasing the stunned man through several back allies and up a few flights of a random building (government building, she later discovered) and tackled him to the ground, punched him in the face a few times, and tasered him with her phone (courtesy of Professor Agasa) for good measure.
After Avelia got all of the mother henning panic out of his system he congratulated her and the next thing she new trips out of the country became a normal part of her everyday life. Surprisingly, it was not Avelia that gave her those cases. Instead it was other police departments that had heard about what happened as well as some families involved in old cases that wished for the criminal to be found and brought to justice once and for all.
Avelia never said anything besides the customary good luck but she suspected he didn't approve of her little adventures out of the city.
"So who is this man exactly?" she questioned, angling her camera down at the street below her. She was holed up on the fifth floor of a building under renovation. Construction would begin next week but it had been cleared out before hand and it had the perfect vantage point of the company across the street.
"Where you even listening when I debriefed you?"
"Of course," she took a few test shots to get the layout of the building and adjust to the glare of the afternoon sun. "But all you really said was that he was suspected of smuggling in weapons using the company as a front. You never actually said who he was."
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line, which made her rub at her ear irritably.
"His name is Hotoharu Kazimir. His company deals with electronic imports and has been around for about six years."
"Kazimir?" Shizuka frowned, snapping pictures of everyone who entered or left the building. "Isn't that a Russian name?"
"It is. His mother was from Russia but his father was from Beika. They have both passed away."
"Any other family?"
"None."
"Huh," she murmured, twisting the lens so that it zoomed in. "Any known love interests?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Really? I am pretty sure he's got one," she hit the shutter button continuously.
"Why?"
"Cause I'm looking at them. Hotoharu Kazimir, about 5'8, male, heavy set, balding, light skinned with dark brown eyes and a slight limp in his left leg. He also has a very spiky black mustache. Unknown party looks to be about 6ft, male, slightly darker skin, salt and pepper hair. Can't see his face but is dressed formally and is slender in build," Shizuka listed off, keeping her camera trained on the mysterious man in case he turned enough for her to see his face.
"It could just be a business partner. His schedule shows an appointment around this time."
"They seem pretty touchy feely for business part- wow," her eyebrows shot all the way to her hairline. "Oh yeah, they are definitely together."
"…I hate to ask, but how certain are you?"
"One hundred percent. Kazimir is currently being shoved into the wall and-"
"I believe you," Avelia cut in swiftly. "I don't need the play by play."
"At least you get the choice to be ignorant," Shizuka gagged slightly. "My moral code demands I keep my camera trained on… this… for fear of missing something case breaking."
"Think about something else."
She shrugged. "Alright. I want all of my work to be centered around Beika from now on."
"Something besides that."
"Why?" she demanded, following the disturbing scene across the street with forced dedication. "I thought you didn't like me leaving the city anyway."
"I don't. You are still young and inexperienced and the cases you were taking were far to high risk. You are not technically part of any law enforcement regimens which limits the support you can get."
"Then what is the…ugh, the unknown party has a birthmark on their left shoulder blade in the shape of a giraffe. What is the problem?"
"…The problem is that you have already taken those jobs and you have completed them with shocking accuracy. A lot of the other divisions are coming to rely on that and to suddenly lose something that has been benefiting them will cause a backlash."
Shizuka snorted. "They were perfectly fine before I showed up, a few years can not have caused that much of a difference."
"Every case makes a big difference, whether big or small in magnitude. The criminals you tend to go after are killers and, worse, they are killers someone has failed to catch before. Getting them off the streets is a big moral boost and a lot of the guilty officers see it as being saved from their mistakes."
"Unknown party has a scar across the back of his left thigh," her voice was calm despite the fact that her face had gone pale from horror. "Looks like an old knife wound, you should check m-medical." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "S-so basically I help their guilty consciences and they don't want to lose that."
"Exactly."
It was her turn to sigh heavily. "I'm not doing this on a whim Chief. I'm… working a new case."
"I didn't hear about that," his voice was sharp. "We had a deal Kudo."
"I know," she moved one hand to brush an irritating strand of hair behind her ear. "But I can't tell you about this one. Not yet. I'm not even sure what I'm dealing with at this point and in all technicalities it isn't my case. It's more of a family matter per se. Think plausible deniability."
"Kudo-"
"I can't tell you," she snapped. "I am going to stay in Beika regardless of what anyone else needs and I'll start back at the bottom of the barrel if I have to. I'm getting a refresher course of my old jobs right n- oh my god that is just- ugh."
"Shizuka." The use of her first name made her frown deepen. "I know you, and whatever mess you have gotten yourself into this time is going to end up like all the other times you refused to ask for help. I thought you were learning, don't fall back on bad habits."
"I'm not. This is different from any other case I have worked, Chief."
"Oh really. Because it is far more dangerous?" he sounded tense.
"It might be," she admitted, blanking out her mind so she couldn't actively think about anything but the conversation. "But that isn't the reason. This time-"
There was a loud bang as the glass of Kazimir's office windows shattered. Through the viewfinder of her camera she watched as a sudden bloom of red appeared on the unknown man's back. Kazimir was struggling to move him and she could see him shouting something. There was a second bang and Kazimir fell limp, his head falling so that the other man's shoulder hid it from view.
"Shots fired!" Shizuka yelled, grabbing her camera and leaning out of the window. Whoever had fired those shots had been on her side of the street. Twisting the lens rapidly she scanned the buildings along the street for the shooter. "Kazimir and third party down!"
Slight movement caught her eye in the building next to the one she was in. She twisted just in time to catch the tail end of what appeared to be a black coat disappearing into a window on the eighth floor.
"The advertising building, 88th and 73rd, eighth floor," Shizuka barked out, turning to run out the door. "One shooter spotted, possibly more."
"Stay where you are Kudo! We need to know what we are dealing with. I want photos of every single person that goes in and out of that building, do you understand me?"
Shizuka cursed but turned back to lean out of the window once more. There was a high possibility the shooter would already be gone by the time she got down to ground level and there was no way the police would arrive in time. Matching a face to the gun would be their best bet.
"I've got eyes on the front and left exits, but if they decide to loop around the other side or out the back I'll be blind," she informed him, snapping shots left and right.
"Keep your eyes open."
"I rarely ever close them Chief."
It took the police fifteen minutes to arrive at the scene and by that time Shizuka had taken well over two hundred pictures. Her eyes burned with the need to blink but she refused to close them until the dryness started to affect her vision.
"They're gone," she shook her head. "I saw a few people carrying things that could hide a rifle but most of them had already been outside of the building at the time of the shooting."
"You did good, Kudo. Come down to the streets, I need that film as soon as possible." Avelia sounded just as tired as she felt.
"On my way," she brushed the back of her hand across her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Damn."
-00-
Shinichi was stretched out on Agasa's couch, flipping through the news with a bored expression on his face. He had wanted to see how the search for the antidote was coming along but it was obvious the Professor was going to need a lot more time. He decided to stay over with Agasa until dinner. It felt uncomfortable over at the Mouri household and he couldn't think straight with Ran watching over him.
"We have reporters on the scene now," a solemn looking newswoman stated as he reached a news channel. Shinichi lifted his head in interest.
"We are at the sight of the shooting now," the reporter had to nearly shout to be heard over the panicking crowd. His face was beaded with sweat and his hair was in disarray. "Just moments ago shots were fired in the Jenko city district near the corner of 88th and 73rd. So far there have only been two reported casualties, believed to be the targets of the shooting."
The pictures of two men were shown in the top corner of the screen. Shinichi bolted into a sitting position, his face going white. Agasa looked up from the voice changer he was working on.
"Shinichi?" he called worriedly, but the miniature detective ignored him.
Hotoharu Kazimir and Hershel Drake lost their lives in this tragic incident. The police are on the scene now, scouring the building they believe the shooter had taken refuge in."
The camera panned over to the other side of the street, allowing Shinichi to see the building in question.
"That's him," he breathed.
"What?" Agasa came to stand by him.
"That's the man they were talking too!" Shinichi pointed to the picture of Hotoharu Kazimir. "The men in black! The night they poisoned me they were talking to that man!"
"What?!" Agasa cried in shock, turning to stare at the screen as well.
They could see police officers herding civilians to the side as they worked their way through the building. One particular man with a black and white streaked beard was shouting directions, his standard blue police cap pulled low and shadowing his eyes. He was urging the crowd to stand back while they worked. He looked to be in his early 40's with a very muscular build.
Shinichi and Agasa felt their mouths fall open as a small, brown haired woman came to stand by him. Her eyes were narrowed and focused on the crowd, a camera in hand.
"Shizuka?!"
And I am going to stop it here, at that little cliffhanger. Mwuahahahah!
When I was writing this chapter I was worried about bringing in Kazimir (not sure why I made him Russian but meh) in because I simply could not remember if he was ever brought back up. He was in the very first chapter and episode of Detective Conan (the guy they were blackmailing about the gun smuggling) and I searched for a good hour and half to see if he ever popped back up for another case or something or even if his name was ever mentioned. I couldn't find him and it seemed pretty damn important that he was someone that had the BO had dealings with so I decided to give him an ending here. I also made his lover male simply because that is what my fingers typed out. It was not done with any ill intent; my mind simply decided that is what happened so that is what it is in case any of you were wondering. I also could not find the actual chief of police in the manga or anime, I could only find Inspector Megure and his supervisor, so I made him up as well; I hope you guys liked his character! His profile will be below but I'm going to leave some things out for mysterious purposes.
Thanks for reading!
Name: Avelia (no one knows his first name)
Age: 42
Eye color: Light grey
Hair color (and beard color): Black with grey streaks (he says from stress, Shizuka says from age)
Height: 6'1
Occupation: Chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police force
Personality: Appears very intimidating due to his harsh facial features and large build but is a softy at heart. He is very passionate about his job and he cares a lot for his subordinates and other people. Generally fun loving, though it doesn't show around people he does not know or trust. Willing to make the hard choices though it pains him to do so. Finds Shizuka very amusing but wishes she would stop taking risks even though he knows it is necessary.
Hobbies: Loves to bake. He makes cookies for the department and often gives Shizuka a box filled with them because he believes she has no idea how to cook (a correct assumption). He goes for walks with his wife whenever he can and loves to read many genres of books but tends to prefer fantasy novels because they remind him of when he was a kid and the plots interest him.
Again, if you want to know anything else I would be happy to let you guys know more about him. I personally adore him.
